Her Campus Media (HCM), of the US, has acquired College Fashionista, the online forum for young beauty and fashion influencers, which was founded in 2010 by Amy Levin Klein and Melissa Levin. The latter will joining HCM as VP in charge of strategy.
College Fashionista was born out of Levin’s realisation, while a student in Indiana, that she didn’t have an opportunity to get fashion experience during the school year. So she created one in 2009 from her campus bedroom. The site is believed to have revenue of some $2-3m and employs five people. The cash price has not been disclosed.
College Fashionista has developed a digital and social footprint on over 1,000 campuses, hosted annual events including CF Clubhouse and C Future, and partnered with major brands. The New York-based company’s content is provided by female contributors from around the world, to whom College Fashionista provides education, training, and skill-building across editorial, marketing and branding. Earlier this year, the site’s founders re-purchased their business after having sold it to Clique Brands (operators of WhoWhatWear) in 2016.
It’s a perfect fit for HCM which was set up in 2010, has recently also acquired Lala Media Group and has launched verticals in décor, food, beauty and style. The highly-profitable company also runs events in New York and LA.
Her Campus now has chapters at 380 colleges in the US and in 11 countries across the world including the UK, Japan, Australia, India and South Africa. Each college’s correspondent has editorial and publicity templates to publish their content directly to the Her Campus site which has an estimated 9,000 contributors and some 4m monthly users.
The success of the privately-owned Her Campus Media LLC, is reflected in soaring revenues, believed now to be some $15-20m. With such a large volunteer workforce, you have to believe that the profit margins are good too.
